Points

Content Count

Popular Content

I would say:
Be keen - say yes, don't argue or talk back, respect that there is a hierarchy and this varies by specialty with surgery being the most hierarchical and family medicine being less so.
Work hard - If you want a letter, you need to stay late, always be on time or early, (for electives, you should work weekends, do extra call (varies by specialty)). Never leave work for others unless they absolutely insist on doing it for you/doing it themselves. (if you want to be a superstar on an elective, take on work for residents (in a tasteful and appropriate way), residents don't need to impress in the same timeframe you do, most will recognize your effort and they will return the favour)
Be knowledgeable - Know your clinical stuff, the knowledge you need for Step 2 CK is more important than knowledge you learn in Step 1.
Be socially aware - This is important. Medicine is teamwork, always pay attention to those around you. If you are in rounds and you start some 10 minute long discussion about which ACEi to use with your staff, look around, your fellow teammates may be rolling their eyes, falling asleep or shaking their leg.
Be friendly/nice/sociable - This I find is often very innate, some have no trouble others do, however the most important thing in my mind is don't be the opposite. As long as you are polite, can make some conversation and can laugh at a preceptor's jokes (even if you it was an awkward joke and it wasn't that funny) you will do fine in this category. This is a category you just need to be okay at, excelling is the icing on the cake but not the base.
Two important mindsets to apply during clerkship:
1. Function at the level of a junior resident - As you advance through clerkship, watch your junior residents closely, watch what they do, how they act. Pick the one you think does the best job in your eyes and try to work, think and act like them. Try to start doing responsibilities that they do. Try to have as much knowledge as them.
2. Put the team first - On a rotation you want to impress in, think about the team first. Make sure the team's job is done or accounted for before you go home each day. Be willing to "take one for the team" and eventually "the team will take one for you".

Time Stamp: April 12, 2:00PM
With tears in my eyes... ACCEPTED!!!!!!!! (OOP WL)
GPA: 3.9 MCAT: 515
Essay: I tried my hardest on this section bc im not very confident in my essay writing but ended up having to rush it more than I thought I would have to due to work. Weakest section by far really recommend taking extra time on this!!
ECs: Research for a couple of years in Biology and Humanities (no pubs but impact was significant curriculum changes to 2 large uni courses), curriculum design assistant (published 2 interactive books), digital media assistant (mostly videography), undergrad TA for 2 terms,1300+ hrs of paid mentorship and tutoring, Crohns/Colitis volunteer, some unique placement experiences, cofounder of a startup.
Interview: First interview of my life so I had a lot of trouble sleeping the night before. I felt like most of the sections were okay, 2 stations I felt really good on, but there was a station I completely bombed because I didnt read the prompt correctly and there wasn't enough time to save it.
My total score was 77.63
I am a non-trad applicant and ive worked through so many failures and uncertainties its hard to describe how amazing this feels. I was put on academic probation after first year because I couldn't handle this idea of trying to out-compete my peers, the anxiety was too much and I was too scared to reach out for help. It took a break from uni for 1.5 years for me to be able to face my fears and accept being vulnerable/reaching out for help. I told myself that if this didn't happen for me this year, I would have to start pursuing a realistic backup. At a time where my family has been struggling, being able to call my momma and update her with this is unbelievable.
This process almost feels like its designed to test your constitution constantly, I can't tell you how many times I nearly gave up. Don't let the process make you forget your own intrinsic value in this world, we all mean so much more than an application!!!

I got mixed responses when I asked if I should do this but I did it anyways. I ended up sounding like fucking shrek so I do not advise doing this. Hopefully the interviewers thought I had a speech impediment or something

Come on......
There are many reasons not to become a surgeon - this one should be positioned right at the bottom of the list.
What next - don't drive because you have an increased chance of dying in a car accident if you drive versus if you don't? Don't fly because your chances of dying from a plane crash increase if you fly versus if you don't?
Yes - a surgeon can loose his/her privileges if he/she contracts a blood borne illness. The statistically likelihood of this is extremely low. Couple that with PEP for HIV and the cure rates for HIV C, and I think you have very little to worry about. There are a million 'what if's' that could impact on your ability to do surgery.... what if you loose a limb/an eye etc in a terrible accident? What if you develop severe arthritis or a neurological condition that impacts on your ability to operate? What if you get cancer and die right after residency (seen that)? Should we all be worrying about this as well prior to a decision?
There are many future events waiting for us that are beyond our control - why worry about them? Instead, focus on the things you do have control over - like double gloving in surgery (many don't), wearing eye protection (many don't), tying without holding instruments especially when there is a fu$king needle present (many don't). Just like you wear a seatbelt while driving and choose an airline with an excellent safety record, there are things you can do to mitigate risks in your surgical practice.
Choosing not to do surgery because you are afraid of what MIGHT happen while in practice is a poor decision at best. There are numerous other factors that will significantly impact on a successful and enjoyable career that should be weighed in your decision - in my opinion, this is not one of them.
2 cents from a surgeon in practice

understandable - most of the rules are based on you doing exactly 10 standard courses a year. That is there all of the 3/5 rules etc come from. When you overload for Western, and pretty much just for Western, other factors come into play
Still of course verify everything with them.

Me on forums: delirious, neurotic, spitting the hottest memes since January 2018 (ok maybe not the hottest).
Me IRL: I am a well composed individual who would like to gain entry into your medical school.

Bit hesitant to join in as I can't quite even call myself as being part of the community yet but I think there is one aspect that people could be overlooking in all this. I think it's important to consider why residency spots are being cut. From experience, I can't say it's because there is an oversupply of services, but from what I hear from many of my friends in policy, it's that physician compensation is too high. Government can't afford to keep up with paying for all these doctors so I think they are trying to cut from source -- the residency spots which they do have some way to control.
I think it's important for physicians to recognize also that although I personally know many who are in it to serve the patients/public, I also know many who are in it to fatten their wallets. For a lot of policy makers they encounter many hinderances to innovation because of issues with compensation, and some even go onto say that we won't see any meaningful innovation in healthcare until all physicians are salaried. Obviously there are a lot of interest groups within medicine that works to look out for their own specialty or demographic. For instance, perhaps heavy costs of physician compensation now is costing young med students from being able to match. Just an idea, not tested by any means, but I think it could be possible.
Basically, I think there should be some immediate actions that could take place to limit lack of matching as much as possible (many great ideas already being discussed here), but in the long run, I think physician as interest group have to look inwards and consider what's the cost they are incurring to the public. Scope of practice will vastly change as AI and modern computational technologies really take off in all fields including medicine, and with a universally funded system, you're only increasing the selection pressure for yourself to be phased out more quickly if you are costing the system heavily without much added value...
Just my 2 cents. My hearts go out to those unmatched facing a lot of hardships regardless. Really good to be talking openly about it to try to mitigate in the future.

Time Stamp: April 12, 8:24 am EST
Accepted!! (Saint John New Brunswick Campus)
IP/OOP: OOP
wGPA: 4.0
MCAT: 516
Essay: It looks like my essay and supplemental score was the lowest out of the three categories, but I worked hard on it and I was proud of it!
ECs: A pretty diverse set of activities overall. Research (publications and a few oral and poster presentations at research conferences), hospital ER volunteering, peer helper on campus, volunteering at a local after-school program, leadership positions at clubs on campus, a couple years of varsity sports in high school, and taking and teaching piano lessons.
Interview: This was my first MMI, so I didn't know what to expect going in. After the first station, I settled in and it actually became pretty fun! Dalhousie's interviewers are probably some of the nicest people out there
Year: 4th year UG
Overall score: 76.57
This came as a complete surprise. I'm still in shock! I figured that if I got an offer at all, it wouldn't be until closer to the end of May, especially because I knew there were higher scores out there. I'm just so, so excited!
Keep your head up and your eyes peeled everyone. There are lots of offers to come yet!

Hey guys. This is Ana Safavi, the resident referred to in the articles. I did used to post here under a different username, but right before I went public, I sort of panicked and asked to be perma-banned from the forums in order to delete my entire post history. I don't think you can un-perma-ban a user, so here I am under a new profile. Oh well.
I debated whether or not to post in this thread. Initially I stayed off premed 101, because I didn't want people to feel inhibited from discussing my case freely amongst themselves, for fear of offending me or something like that. Please don't worry about hurting my feelings -- trust me, I have been called way worse in the comment sections of the Sudbury Star and National Post by now. I wouldn't have gone public if I didn't have a thick skin, and I want people to feel like they can criticize me in this thread if they want.
The reason I am posting in this thread is because I want people to know that I am available to help anyone else going through something similar. Medical student or resident. Male or female. Harassed -- sexually or otherwise. Unfairly targeted, discredited, silenced, or maligned by your institution. Whether you want advice, referrals to (non-shitty) lawyers, or just want to vent to somebody who gets it, I'm here and happy to help in any way that I can. I have learned so much over the past two years about how to navigate the system and protect yourself as a learner trapped in a broken, corrupt system, and I feel obligated to pass on that knowledge to anyone else who can benefit from that hard-earned insight. And my schedule is wide open right now.
If you are afraid to put your thoughts in writing, my cell phone number is 519-859-9334. Text me anytime. Or you can add me on whatsapp. Just please no unsolicited d*ck pics (unintentional side effect of going public, I have recently learned).
Btw, feel free to ask me questions. Don't worry about prying -- if I can't answer something for legal reasons, I'll let you know. The articles are a bit confusing, and some of my actions may seem somewhat illogical as a result. I will do my best to clarify things (like why I haven't released the name of my sexual harasser). You can also ask me personal questions if you like (what it felt like being sexually harassed, how to cope with something like that, etc). I will let you know if I don't want to answer and I promise not to be offended that you asked.
Finally, if people want to discuss what it's like from the accused person's perspective (issues of due process, etc) I have some insight to offer as well there. After all, I was unfairly accused and punished by NOSM for making so-called 'unfounded accusations' after a one-sided investigation done without my knowledge, so while I am a victim here, I do have sympathy for the other side of the issue as well. Due process is paramount, and should never be sacrificed out of expediency.

I've actually seen a ton who haven't made it and a few who have.
I've heard of one caribbean grad who sees patients under a family doctor, essentially working as a physician's assistant but without the official title. There are options out, but it can be a long, difficult road and certainly not something I recommend to someone who could improve their app and reapply.

I went into CaRMS applying to dermatology with paediatrics as my backup. I had multiple interviews in both, so it is not an impossible feat (and I am not a big researcher). If you can't find dermatology observerships before clerkship that will be ok. Just work hard to get derm electives across the country and put in the effort while you are on service.